Once Upon a Time
by czarina-kathryn
Summary: Lily Evans lost herself 3 years ago when her father died. She isn't even called Lily anymore, but Cinderella or Cici. In case you haven’t guessed, yes, she slaves away for her step family. But someone’s about to teach her how to live ...
1. Secret Love

It's not mine; it's all J.K. Rowling's.

This is just a short Cinderella fic I've had for a while. It'll only be 3 chapters, so no big commitment. And for those readers easily confused, Lily is Cici, that's her nickname.

Chapter One: Secret Love

Cici threw the scrub brush into the water bucket with disgust. She hated cleaning, but it seemed that was all she ever did thanks to her no good evil step-mother. Words couldn't even describe how much she hated that woman. Why couldn't Francis just leave her alone? Why did she find it so fun to work her to the bone? It's not like she didn't have enough to do, what with school work and everything.

In case you haven't guessed, Francis is Cici's step-mother. She'd married her father four years ago, which was about a year before he'd been killed in a car accident. As soon as he'd died, her only blood sister, Petunia, had moved out and Lily hadn't heard from her since. So Lily was left here to slave away from her step-mom and step-sisters, Georgia and Halley.

She groaned and picked the scrub brush out of the dirty water; she had to finish the floors before Francis came home with Georgia and Halley or else she'd be in for it. It was almost time for the fall term at her school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to start. This year Cici wanted to go to the ball that would be held at the start of winter break. Unfortunately, that would require Francis' permission, so Cici needed to be on her best behavior in order to impress Francis.

Cici wasn't exactly one of the popular girls at school; she had a few good friends, but she didn't travel in the 'right' circles. Basically meaning she wasn't one of the girls who trailed flirtatiously after the Marauders. The Marauders, now that was a topic she didn't want to dwell on. Not because it was unpleasant though, but because she knew that she'd never, ever, in a hundred million years, no ... millennia, have a chance with any of them. Most particularly their leader, James Potter, who could have any girl in school he wanted. Being able to have any girl in school you wanted pretty much came down to having either Georgia or Halley. Honestly, Cici didn't know what anyone saw in them. They were so stupid and annoying. Men are so shallow, all they cared about was the fact that Georgia and Halley look good. Cici could look good too, maybe, with a little work, but she never bothered to try; it just wasn't worth it. She also liked her sleep. The extra 5 minutes it takes to do one's hair properly and the extra 10 for make-up are much better spent as 15 minutes in bed.

Cici was heard the door slam down the hall. The terrible trio was back from their shopping trip, oh goody. She looked up as they entered the room and clumsily got to her feet, smoothing her stained t-shirt. Francis surveyed the floor with her nose in the air. She looked at Cici and curtly nodded, waving her hand in dismissal. Cici picked up the bucket and scrub brush. Was she honestly so repulsive that she wasn't even worthy of having words wasted on her?

The school year started off well enough and kept on that pace. Except for the seemingly unending torture of her step-sisters, she didn't have anything to complain about. In fact, she had many things to burst into song about. Now that the winter break was nearing, she was more anxious than ever to go to the ball.

Cici hadn't miraculously become popular or anything, but she was hoping to meet someone at the ball. Someone being a person she'd 'met' through KYC (Know Your Classmates) at school. She and Night, her mysterious friend, had started exchanging short letters, but their correspondence had quickly grown into long, 5 page letters and notebook conversations at 4 in the morning.

Notebook conversations were the newest fad at school. They allowed someone to write notes using a magicked notepad and send them instantly to anyone else who also had their notepad open, as long as you knew their code name. Cici used Cinders01, it was her play on having an evil step family (Georgia and Halley had never quite gotten the joke, although they did call her Cinderella). Her friend Devin, (a girl in spite of her name) had told her to ask her 'mystery friend' to meet at the dance. Cici had kind of been planning to forget to ask him, so hadn't thought of how she would get permission to go, much less what she would wear. It was all Night's fault he was just so charming the words (letters) had popped out of her without even realizing it. And he just _had _to say yes, didn't he? She didn't really want to think about it since she still had no clue how she'd convince Francis to let her go. Hopefully all of that hard work she'd put in during the summer would pay off.

But maybe she didn't even want to meet her 'mystery friend'. She'd built a picture of him in her mind and it was sure to be shattered. After all, the picture in her mind rather resembled the hottest guy in school, the darkly handsome James Potter, and her 'mystery friend' definitely wasn't him. And even if it was him, which it wasn't, James would take one look at her and run in the opposite direction. After all, her home made dress was nothing to cheer about, one sleeve was even slightly longer than the other. She was just hoping no one would notice.

In fact, Cici was sure, with her luck, her friend would turn out to be someone awful. It would probably be Peter Pettigrew. Cici swore that if he went any slower, he'd be walking backwards. 'Stop being so pessimistic,' she told herself, 'After all, whoever he is certainly doesn't write like a dunce.'

Drowning in thought, Cici walked up the stairs to the Head Girl dorm (yes, she'd made Head Girl to James Potter's Head Boy). The dorm was literally 3 times the size of her shoe box room at home and that was saying something. She blessed all her lucky stars that she'd been able to convince Francis to give her her step-sisters' old notebook when they'd gotten a new one. It made it so much easier to stay in contact with her friends (especially her secret one) since she now lived in a different dorm than them. Opening it up she saw that Devin had her notebook open as well.

Cici smiled, Devin had been completely up in the clouds lately. Cici herself couldn't believe Devin's luck, but some how Dev had contrived to catch Sirius Black's attention (Yes, THE Sirius Black). The whole school had gone pretty much nutters after he asked out a self named 'loser', but they calmed down when they realized it wasn't going to change things too much. Sirius would still sit with the Marauders at meals, he would still prank the losers, and he was still ultra cool. Cici figured that Sirius was the only guy in school who could manage to pull that off.

Sometimes Cici just didn't understand it though. It was as if Sirius and Devin were only dating during the hour they saw each other alone every day. They never even hung out except by the themselves, so Cici had only talked to Sirius once and Devin had never even met any of his friends, the infamous marauders.

But still Devin was in bliss so Cici was happy for her, even if her relationship was a bit abnormal. Cici had also discovered (in her one conversation with Sirius) that in spite of what she'd always thought of him, Sirius was an ok guy and honestly liked Devin (This she knew because she'd cornered him and demanded that he tell her his intentions toward her best friend. She'd been very impressed with his frankness on how he did think Devin was pretty (part of the reason he wanted to go out with her), but also his obvious interest in her personality).

Cici picked up her quill and wrote a hello to Devin.

Cinders01: Hey Dev!

ShortnCrazy: Hey Lily!

Cinders01: Don't call me that!

ShortnCrazy: Why not? It's your name.

Cinders01: No one calls me that.

ShortnCrazy: Your dad did.

Cinders01: Yeah, well he's dead isn't he?

ShortnCrazy: Cici...

Cinders01: I'm sorry Dev, I'm just in a bad mood. Maybe I should just skip the ball.

ShortnCrazy: What? Are you crazy? You can't skip the ball. We worked on that dress forever. All that hard work ... you have to go!

Cinders01: Who ever this guy is, he's going to laugh at me.

ShortnCrazy: No, he's not. You're perfect; there's nothing to laugh at.

Cinders01: I'm nowhere near perfect.

ShortnCrazy: Oh, my bad. You only get perfect grades, have a perfect complexion, have perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect eyes, a perfect figure ... Do I have to continue?

Cinders01: Please don't. I don't think I could stand anymore.

ShortnCrazy: So you're going, right?

Cinders01: I'm considering it.

ShortnCrazy: evil glare

Cinders01: OMG!

ShortnCrazy: What?

Cinders01: He's on.

ShortnCrazy: Talk to him!

Cinders01: You think I should?

ShortnCrazy: Yes! I order you to talk to him or I'll ... I'll drown you in scrambled eggs.

Cinders01: Wow, that's a great incentive.

ShortnCrazy: I know.

Cinders01: Hey.

NightRider: Right back at ya, beautiful

Cinders01: You've never seen me.

NightRider: So...

Cinders01: What if I'm a hag or something?

NightRider: Damn

Cinders01: What?

NightRider: You're having second thoughts, aren't you?

Cinders01: About what?

Cinders01: Help!

ShortnCrazy: What happened?

Cinders01: We're only 7 lines into the conversation and he's already figured out that I'm having second thoughts about the ball.

ShortnCrazy: That's because he can read your mind. Further proof you two are perfect for each other; now go talk to him!

NightRider: About meeting me at the ball

NightRider: Cinders? Are you there?

Cinders01: Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, but you kind of surprised me since I am having second thoughts.

NightRider: Ok, well I'm glad you told me. Any particular reason for the cold feet? You aren't seriously worried I'll think your ugly, are you? I hope you realize I don't care about that. Besides, I'm sure your gorgeous. Anyone with writing skills like yours must be beautiful. And don't even get me started on your handwriting, my best friend threatened death on me last night if I spent one more minute discussing the beautiful way you cross your T's.

Cinders01: I guess I'm kind of worried about what you'll think, but ...

NightRider: But...

Cinders01: It's my dress.

NightRider: Did it get torn or something?

Cinders01: I made it myself.

NightRider: Not only do you have excellent writing skills, but you can sew. I don't suppose you could sew this button that fell off my favorite shirt back on, could you?

Cinders01: That's the thing, I'm not very good at sewing.

NightRider: I'm sure you're better than you think

Cinders01: I'm not.

NightRider: Is the hem off or something?

Cinders01: It's more the sleeves.

NightRider: I see...

Cinders01: So we can't go because I can't wear my dress. I'm sorry, maybe we can meet up some other time.

NightRider: Wear gloves.

Cinders01: What?

NightRider: Wear gloves. They'll cover up your sleeves

Cinders01: I guess that would work.

NightRider: Of course it will, I came up with it :)

Cinders01: ...

NightRider: This isn't really about the dress, is it?

Cinders01: No.

NightRider: Did you meet someone else? You can just tell me if you did; I won't get mad.

Cinders01: No! It's not that. I guess I'm just worried that you'll be disappointed.

NightRider: Or maybe you're more more worried that you'll be disappointed

Cinders01: That too.

NightRider: I'm not going to be disappointed, Cinders

Cinders01: I wouldn't be too sure, Night.

NightRider: I've never met anyone like you. You're the only person I know who I can talk (write) to and not be afraid. I just know that you understand. I love the way I can tell what's going through your mind and you can tell what's going through mine. I've asked you to be my girlfriend before, but you always decline, saying you want to wait until we meet. Please meet me at the ball Friday night. I'll be in the middle of the dance floor at 9:00. I'll be looking for a girl with gloves. Love ya, Night.

NightRider has signed off

Cinders01: I need a vacation.

ShortnCrazy: What happened.

Cinders01: He gave me a lecture about how much he wants to meet me and go out with me.

ShortnCrazy: That doesn't sound so bad.

Cinders01: How can he be so darn sure of himself all of the time? I don't understand how any one person can be so intuitive and always say the right things at the right time. He's just so perfect.

ShortnCrazy: So you're complaining because the man who wants to date you is too perfect? I hate to break it to you, but most girls (me included) complain when their boyfriend is an idiot, not when he's perfect.

Cinders01: Speaking of which, how is Sirius?

ShortnCrazy: He's dandy. Now stop trying to change the subject.

Cinders01: I wasn't.

ShortnCrazy: Yes, you were. What's really bothering you?

Cinders01: I want him to be James Potter and I know he isn't. It's not fair to Night that I'll be let down when we meet.

ShortnCrazy: Maybe it is James.

Cinders01: lol and maybe the moon is made of cheese. James wouldn't be as kind as Night is.

ShortnCrazy: Sounds to me like you might like your Night better than James.

Cinders01: Personality wise, yes, but he won't be as cute. Ugh. I feel so sick. Night is always expounding to me about how he doesn't care what I look like, that he likes me for what's inside and I'm not even returning the favor. With my luck Night will be Peter.

ShortnCrazy: Wow, I hope it's not Peter for everyone's sake. I can just imagine your scream when you find out it's him. I think my ear drums are breaking.

Cinders01: Very funny, Dev, I'm not joking.

ShortnCrazy: I know, but I think this will turn out better than you expect.

Cinders01: I suppose anyone is better than Peter.

ShortnCrazy: No kidding! If I were you, I'd hope it's Remus Lupin. I bet it's him! I just saw him get off of his notebook a second ago.

Cinders01: Really?

ShortnCrazy: Seriously (No pun, on the ultra hot Sirius, intended).

Cinders01: I guess Remus wouldn't be too bad.

ShortnCrazy: Too bad? Cici, have you seen this man? We're talking gorgeous and soulful. He's a burning hunk of love.

Cinders01: A burning hunk of love? Excuse me while I go split my spleen having a laughing fit.

ShortnCrazy: I'm serious (not the delectably sexy one though) and if I were single I would say yes to him in a heartbeat. Hell, I'd say yes to him even if I wasn't single.

Cinders01: So what does Sirius say about that?

ShortnCrazy: Well, seeing as Remus Lupin will never know I exist (speaking of which, I still have no clue how the King of Hotness Sirius Black figured out I existed), it really doesn't matter, does it?

Cinders01: If you talked to Remus he'd noticed you. Besides you are dating one of his fellow Marauders, I'm sure he knows you exist.

ShortnCrazy: Yeah, and if you talked to James he'd notice you.

Cinders01: I do talk to James!

ShortnCrazy: Yeah, 5 words per head meeting.

ShortnCrazy: I've g2g Cici, but I'm sure things will work out for you. I bet Night turns out to be even better looking than James.

Cinders01: Thanks Dev. I'll ttyl.

ShortnCrazy has signed off

"Cinderella!" Georgia and Halley screamed up the stairs. They got a kick out of calling her that even though they didn't quite understand why it was clever. They were such dimwits. Cinderella was where her nick name, Cici, came from. Her real name was Lillian, Lily for short, but no one called her that anymore, not since her father passed away three years ago.

"I'm coming!" She yelled back. Getting up from her chair, she headed downstairs to do their homework for them because if she didn't they would write Francis and tell her, and then Cici would have no where to live. Cici still couldn't figure out how they'd gotten the password to the Head's rooms. It was probably from James. He probably invited them over so he could sleep with them.

At that thought she groaned, she was being a bit uncharitable. The James Potter she saw in Head meetings wouldn't do that. It was more likely Georgia or Halley had simply overheard him saying the password. The fact that they practically stalked him definitely added credibility to that idea.

Getting into bed that night, she couldn't help but think it was only 2 days until the ball now.

Cici slogged through classes on Thursday. barely managing to stay awake. She fought the urge to kill herself as Professor Heubert repeated for the thousandth time the story of how he'd nearly gotten run over by a wild broom rider in the hallway on the way to class.

"Pity they didn't manage it," she mumbled under her breath, thinking evil thoughts about different gory demises he could have met.

"No kidding," someone whispered back. Cici whipped around to see James Potter smiling at her. You could have knocked her off her chair with your pinky finger, she was so surprised. James Potter had spoken to her. She didn't know what to say, so she grinned back.

Right then Professor Heubert said, "Alright, everyone pair up." Cici hated 'pairing up'. No one ever wanted to be her partner since Devin wasn't in this class. She always ended up stuck with one of those kids who never does any work, so she ended up having to do everything.

"Be my partner?" James asked, like he did so everyday.

"Sure," she replied automatically.

They were only half way through class and nearly done. It was amazing how much faster things went when your partner actually worked with you. She couldn't help being surprised though; she'd always thought James was just a pretty face, but as it turned out he was pretty darn smart too. As she scribbled the last answer on to the parchment, James leaned back in his chair.

"That was fun," he said, stretching his arms over his head. Cici nodded in agreement.

"We should partner more often. Normally I get stuck with girls who have garbage for brains and I have to do everything. It gets on your nerves after a while," he told her. Did this mean he thought she was smart? Well, at the very least he didn't think she was stupid.

"I know what you mean, but I always get stuck with the kids who don't even pretend to work." James laughed.

"I suppose you're right, having garbage for brains is much better than nothing." Cici laughed with him, enjoying the feeling that she wasn't invisible, at least not at the moment.

"You're missing a button," she said, breaking the awkward silence that had settled over them.

"I know," he said glumly, "But this is my favorite shirt, so I couldn't stop wearing it." His favorite shirt! Night had said the exact same thing. It couldn't be. They just couldn't be the same person, but what if they were?

"You should get someone to sew another button on," she said, trying not to let her anxiety at talking to someone who could be Night show through.

"I already have someone lined up," he said, giving her a smile that said he was letting her in on a secret, "My girlfriend claims she can sew, so I'm going to let her have a go at it." Cici felt her heart sink; a girlfriend. Night didn't have a girlfriend; at least she hoped he didn't since he'd asked her out 3 times.

"I wish you'd tell me who this mysterious girlfriend of yours is, James," Georgia said, slinking up to James and running her hands over his shoulder.

"Hey Georgia," he said, clearly uncomfortable, if his desperate attempts to shift away from her touch were any indication. "And as I already told you, you don't know her, she goes to a Beauxbatons."

"She's no good for you, James," Halley said, slipping up behind him and resting her elbows on his other shoulder. Cici looked away, completely disgusted.

"Ladies, I would love to talk, but my partner and I haven't finished the assignment yet and I need a good grade on this." It was a lie and Cici knew it, but she didn't say anything, she just kept her eyes on the textbook.

Her step-sisters both laughed, "Just let Cinders do it. She's always saying she's so smart, so she shouldn't have a problem with it." Cici looked up and was about to retort something rude to Halley when she saw James's face; he was looking like he'd seen a ghost. Had she gotten ink on her chin? Oh no ... oh no ... Halley had called her Cinders ... but wait, that would only affect him if he was Night ... or if he knew Night. That was it, he must know Night, after all, James knew nearly everyone and apparently was a great guy to confide in.

"No, Halley," he said forcefully, "I'm going to help. Why don't you go see if your partner needs any help?"

"I doubt it," she said, looking thoughtful, "I think he's some kind of brainiac or something." Still, she wandered off. James then looked at Georgia.

"If you want to spend time with little Miss Ugly, go ahead," Georgia said, then walked away, flipping her hair.

"I'm sorry about them," James said, looking genuinely concerned that they might have hurt her feelings.

"No worries, I deal with them at home all of the time, anyway."

"You live with them?" He said, his voice filled with disbelief.

"They're my step-sisters."

"That's got to be hell." Cici giggled. So he didn't like them. There were constant rumors going around that he did in fact like them and was only playing hard to get because he wanted to get the better twin, so he was letting them compete for his affections.

"It's something close," Cici said, sighing. James sighed as well, then looked at her piercingly.

"Halley called you Cinders; why?"

"Oh, no reason," she said, quickly coming up with an excuse, "It's sort of a play on the story Cinderella since I have two step-sisters and a step-mother, but no father."

"Oh," he said, still looking at her as though he was trying to divine her secrets.

"Are you going to the ball tomorrow?"

"Maybe," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Well if you do, will you save me a dance?"

Cici laughed at that. "I don't think you have to worry about me saving one. No one's going to dance with me if I do go, so I'll have plenty of dances to give away."

"Well, I'll be dancing with you," he said, winking, "Since you're saving me a

dance."

"Your girlfriend probably wouldn't like that," she told him. The silly grin on his face widened.

"I don't think she'll mind." Then the bell rang, cutting off any further conversation. By the time Cici had finished packing up her bag, he was already gone.

Thanks for reading! Review if you feel like it. Remember stress really isn't the answer. I mean look at me, I have so many things to do, but am I doing them ... NO! And I feel great.

**Daystar** - This is a surprise b-day present for 'us'. Do you like it? Are you surprised? Huh Huh? So ... what'd you get me?


	2. Betrayed Love

It's not mine; it's J.K. Rowlings'.

Chapter 2: Betrayed Love

At lunch on Friday, the entire school was in a gossip frenzy. James Potter was sitting at the 'loser' end of the table. Not only was he sitting at the loser end of the table, but he seemed to be enjoying the hell out of himself, flirting with all the bookworms and laughing over the latest issue of Scientific Warlock Weekly with the guys. It was weird. No, it was just plain freakish. This was popular, worship-the-ground-I-walk-on James Potter and here he was sitting next to her, loser extraordinaire Cici, in the seats that she had sat in every day since the start of her first year. If you'd told her then James Potter would one day sit next to her, she would have died of amusement. In fact, she was still having a hard time believing he was sitting here, normally he sat with his extremely popular friends, mainly consisting of the Marauders. She didn't know about Devin, since she seemed to be enjoying the whole thing, but the constant staring at their end of the table was driving her nuts. She couldn't eat with all of these people watching. Giving up, she set down her fork and stood up, reaching down to grab her bag.

"Let me," James said, reaching over to grab her bag for her.

"No, no, that's ok," she said, trying to stop him.

"It's no problem," he said, already standing up and offering it to her.

"Well, thank you," she said, politely, as she reached out and took it from his hands.

"You're welcome," he replied. Cici turned around and headed out of the great hall, figuring she'd just get to her arithmacy class a little early.

"Wait up!" Someone called from behind her. She stopped abruptly and turned, finding herself face to chest with James as he came skidding to a halt, knocking into her.

"Sorry," he said, grinning sheepishly, "I guess the brakes aren't working today." Cici giggled.

"Where ya going?" He asked, falling in step with her.

"Arithmacy."

"Ahh ... with the all wise Professor Madre," he said, clearly attempting to use a mystical tone of voice, but failing miserably. They walked in silence for a bit, but then she couldn't help herself

"Why did you sit with us at lunch today?"

"Am I not allowed to sit with you?"

"No, it's just that you never have before." He rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly. He looked so adorable.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, "I've always figured that the female population didn't have enough brains between them to equal mine. I know, I know," he said, holding up his hand to forestall her urge to vocalize her indignation, "That's extremely sexist and cocky of me, but then I found out I was wrong. Not too wrong admittedly; the only girl I knew with a brain was my girlfriend, but now that I've met you I know two and it's nice to have someone to sit with at lunch who can make sensible conversation. My girlfriend goes to Beauxbatons, so she obviously can't."

"Oh," Cici said stupidly. "So is your girlfriend coming to the ball?"

"I hope so." Then they reached the arithmacy room and James left, saying he didn't want another lecture on talking in class from Professor Madre.

**ooo...ooo**

Cici didn't learn a single thing during Arithmacy. She spent the entire class trying to convince herself that Night was absolutely positively not James Potter. It wasn't hard to believe, it was just exceedingly impossibly impossible to believe James Potter would ever have a secret romance with anyone, especially her. The problem was that as soon as she established that fact a little voice in her head would say, "_But what if he would?_" The whole thing just made it very hard to concentrate on Arithmacy, which even on the best of days requires a clear head.

Stumbling out of Arithmacy still in her dazed sort of stupor, Cici wasn't really watching where she went. She was just on auto-pilot, heading back to her head dorm. "_Well, what if he really doesn't have a girlfriend at Beauxbatons?_" The little voice in her head chimed, right before she ran straight into a very tall, very solid person.

"Sorry," she said, darting to the side in order to let the other person pass. To her surprise the person moved as well, keeping his body in her path. Taking a glance up Cici expected to see a Slytherin or some other sort of person who enjoyed torturing losers and mudbloods, instead she saw the one, the only Sirius Black.

"B ... Black. Can I help you with anything?" He looked at her like he was appraising her.

"Yes, I believe you can, Evans." He didn't elaborate.

After standing there for a minute or so Cici prompted, "With anything in particular?"

"You're friends with Devin," he said, like he was feeling out the possibilities. Really he ought to know something as obvious as that.

"Yes, yes, I am," she said. He nodded at her answer.

"We ought to go on double dates," he said, looking thoughtful.

"Who ought to go on double dates?" Cici asked, confused.

"Oh, never mind," Sirius said, with a careless wave of his hand.

"Ok ..." Cici said, screwing her forehead up. Sirius looked piercingly at her and nodded.

"You'll do."

"For what?"

"Oh, nothing," he said, with a smirk that let Cici know he was up to something.

Then he turned on his heel and walked off down a side hallway that Cici was pretty sure didn't go anywhere. "_Well that was odd,_" she thought.

**ooo...ooo**

That night, Cici and Devin were getting ready for the ball together. Cici was practically jumping for joy in spite of the hot curlers in her hair (Devin had apparently been planning for years what she was going to do to Cici's hair when she finally went to a ball). Francis had owled her just a few minutes ago and said she could remain for part of the dance as long as she came straight home afterward. Cici had been planning to remain with or without permission, but now she had a chance not to get locked in her room and still go to the ball, which was Awesome!

"Devin," she groaned, "Can I take them out now?" The hot curlers were really annoying her.

"NO!" Devin yelled back from the bathroom. She came out a few seconds later, looking gorgeous in a Chinese style dress. She went to Cici's mirror and carelessly stuck two chopsticks in her hair making it look like she'd spent hours getting them in the perfectly right places. Cici sighed in jealousy; she'd never have half of the fashion sense Devin did.

"Alright, they can come out now," Devin said, turning to her.

"Yes!" Cici said, jumping off the bed. She didn't understand why they had to use muggle hot curlers in the first place.

"Sit down and close you're eyes. And let me tell you, you're not even going to recognize yourself when I'm done with you." Cici didn't know if that was necessarily a good thing.

It felt like it had been hours when Devin finally told her she could open her eyes. Cici turned and looked at herself in the mirror. Her mouth fell open. Was this her face? It couldn't be. She actually looked pretty good with curls; guess she'd been wrong when she told Devin curls were a waste of time. She looked closer; she wasn't too hot on make-up, but it didn't look bad; it didn't look bad at all. She went into the bathroom and wrestled herself into her dress. It looked pretty bad next to Devin's. Oh well, Night wouldn't care, hopefully, and the new hair-do would probably distract everyone else. She pulled on the gloves Devin had loaned her that covered up the ends of the uneven three-quarters length sleeves. Sliding her feet into her shoes, she was ready to go.

"I'm ready," she announced to Devin as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Great," Devin said, turning toward her, then she froze, "Uh ... Cici."

"Yeah?"

"Those shoes don't match." Cici looked down; they were a slightly different color than the dress, but it wasn't that bad. "They're close enough."

"Cici, I've been your best friend long enough to know I need to tell you when you're wrong, and you are wrong. You can't wear those."

"Well, what should I wear? I don't have any other shoes."

"Let me see," Devin said, walking over to the tiny closet Lily got to have in her dorm room and pawing through her four pairs of shoes, two of which were too small.

"You really don't have anything."

"I told you that," Cici said with exasperation. Devin sat back on her heels looking perplexed.

"What's that?" Devin said, pointing at a shoe box in the back of Cici's closet that Cici had never seen before.

"I don't know. Open it up," Cici said; she didn't remember putting that in there. Devin opened the box and gasped.

"You were holding out on me, girl; these are perfect," Devin said, holding up a pair of shoes that looked like they'd come from a fairy tale. They were translucent. Every bit of them was made with see through plastic and crystals; they seemed to sparkle in the light.

"I've never seen those before; they aren't mine," Cici said, desperately wishing they were hers.

"Try them on," Devin suggested. Cici did; they fit perfectly.

"Wear them," Devin said, "They make you look like a princess."

So Cici wore them. They reached the ball a little late at 8:15 and started looking around for Sirius, who had promised to meet Devin there. After they found him, Devin dragged Sirius out onto the dance floor, leaving Cici alone. It was nearing 9 and Cici was trying to get herself mentally prepped for her venture onto the dance floor. Right as the clock on the Great Hall's wall announced it was 9 o'clock, she stepped onto the dance floor. The band stuck up another song, a slow one. She darted around couples and suddenly found herself in the center of the dance floor facing James Potter.

"Night," she whispered, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing.

"Cinders," he whispered back, grabbing her hand and pulling her into his arms, so they could dance. He looked slightly confused though, as if he'd been expecting someone else. He probably had been hoping for someone prettier.

"I was worried you wouldn't come," he confessed.

"I wouldn't leave you standing by yourself," Cici told him.

"You look familiar," he said, brushing a hand over her cheek, "Where have I seen you before?" He didn't recognize her! Holy cricket, this added a whole new depth to this game because now she knew who he was, but he didn't know who she was.

"You're in some of my classes," she said, teasing him with her advantage.

"How could I not have noticed your beauty, if not your mind," he said, shaking his head at his own folly.

"I thought you had a girlfriend," Cici whispered with trepidation.

"I told everyone at school I did to get them off my back. I only want to date you," he said it sincerely, but a look of guilt flashed across his face.

"You've met someone else," she said, her heart falling apart.

"It's ok," she said at his surprised look, "You can tell me, I won't be mad."

"I'm sorry, Cinders, but I'm so confused right now. It's ... I really like you and sometimes I think I love you, but you aren't real, well, now you are, but you weren't. I couldn't sit by you at lunch or partner with you in class and then I met this girl who was real. It all happened so fast, it felt like she was you, only I could see her. And I didn't realize it at the time, but I really thought that she would be you." Cici looked away tears in her eyes.

"That's ok, James, I understand. I want you to be happy and if that's with someone else, fine."

"Cinders," he said, looking like he was almost in tears as well, "Maybe we can meet again sometime. Go get a butterbeer or something. I need to think through what I'm doing before I actually do anything, dating included. I know that what I still feel for you is strong, but it wouldn't be fair to you if I also had feelings for someone else. Let me get those squared away and then maybe we could give it a try." He looked at her hopefully.

"I'm not some fall back girl," she whispered to him angrily. "I'm not going to be the girl you go out with if the other one says no."

"That's not what I meant," he whispered back forcefully.

"So, what did you mean?"

"I love you," he whispered, his eyes taking on a tender edge, "I've fallen in love with you over the last few months without even noticing at first. You would never be my 'fall back' girl. I'm not going to ask the other girl out, I'm just going to let myself get over this stupid crush, so I don't feel like I'm cheating on you when we're together. You're far to special for that."

"I think you should ask her out," Cici said.

"_What?_"

"Maybe if you sleep with her you'll get over your 'crush'."

"I'm not going to sleep with anyone except you. Hell, I don't even want to kiss anyone but you."

"Why not? You could have any girl you want. So who is it? Halley, Georgia, Narcissa?"

"Cinders," he said, looking horrified at her words.

"I'm not playing second fiddle to one of those bimbos," she said, pulling away from him, "Maybe I'll see you around, James." She turned and ran. She pulled up her skirt, so it wouldn't trip her and hurried up the stairs that would take her out of the Great Hall and outside. She could vaguely hear James yelling at her to wait as she ran, but she wasn't going to stop. She had reached the top step when her shoe snagged on a carpet. She hobbled clumsily, pulling off her shoes so she could run better. She chanced a glance behind her and saw James was already half way up the stairs; she needed to run. She got 3 steps and then dropped one of her shoes. She started to turn back to pick it up, but James was nearly there, so she left it, running out into the dark, jumping hedges and fences until she finally lost him.

Once she was sure he was gone she stuck her wand out and caught the Night Bus home. It let her off a few blocks from her house. She lowered herself to the ground by a fence and firmly told herself she was not going to cry. She'd lost her gloves somewhere along the way and her uneven sleeves stood out mockingly in the dark. She needed to get home anyway. Francis had only given her permission to go to the ball since she'd promised to be home by 10 and clean the bathrooms. She started as the church near her house began to chime the hour. She needed to get home. She sprinted the rest of the way, sliding through the door as the last chime died away.

**ooo...ooo**

Thanks for reading! Review if you want to. Sorry I didn't update for a while, but I was on Spring Break. The last chapter will be up soon.

**Daystar:** Thanks for reviewing. I'm so glad it's spring break.

**Passionflower24:** You aren't being dumb, it's me the author being lazy. You see I wrote this story not as a Lily/James fic, so it's been modified in a way that doesn't quite work. There are a few things that aren't cannon, but the answer to your question is that Lily works for her step-mom by taking the night bus home on weekends.

**Dracoslilgirl4ever:** It's exactly like instant messaging since that's what it started as before it was moved into the world of Hogwarts.


	3. Revealed Love

It's not mine; it's J.K. Rowling's.

Chapter 3: Revealed Love

Cici spent the rest of break cleaning and then moping, doing homework and then moping some more, cleaning some more and then moping some more again. She sat down in front of her notebook Sunday night, right before the end of break, and opened it up. She hadn't opened it up since the ball, half-afraid and half-hoping James would have his open too. Her heart leapt and then plummeted. He had his open.

**ooo...ooo**

NightRider: Cinders! I've been waiting for you to open your notebook all break.

NightRider: Talk to me, Cinders!

NightRider: Please, I'm begging you

NightRider: You have to talk to me, I have your other shoe

NightRider: I'll do anything. Please, talk to me

Cinders01: What sort of anything?

NightRider: You're talking to me!

Cinders01: You're a smart one, Sherlock.

NightRider: I'm just so happy I couldn't contain myself. I want to tell you how sorry I am about the ball. I shouldn't have said all that. I keep replaying what I said in my nightmares. I sounded so stupid. I'm so in love with you and I had you in my arms and I told you that I didn't want to date you. How stupid can I get? I feel like such a git.

Cinders01: Maybe that's because you are a git.

NightRider: I know I deserved that and I know there's really no point in asking, but will you meet me again?

NightRider: Please? I could bring your shoe and give it back to you.

Cinders01: When and where?

NightRider: Next Hogsmeade weekend at the Three Broomsticks.

Cinders01: I won't stay long.

NightRider: I won't force you to do anything you don't want.

Cinders01: Next Saturday then.

Cinders01 has signed off

Even though her notebook was turned off Cici scrawled one last message: I lied, James, I'm not coming. I can't come because then you'll know who I am.

**ooo...ooo**

Cici boarded the Night Bus to return to Hogwarts in the wee hours of Monday morning. Most of Hogwart's other students had returned on Saturday aboard the Hogwart's Express, but Francis had refused to drive her to the station and insisted that Cici desperately needed to finish cleaning the entire ground floor, again, before she returned to Hogwarts (or she wouldn't return at all). Cici hated it that Francis had so much power over her.

Sometimes she just wanted to shout, "NO! I won't be your slave anymore." But then she'd remember that if she did that, she would have no place to live. Why couldn't she have become friends with someone who had a bigger house?

Cici knocked her head on the bed post as the bus violently jerked forward. She probably deserved that for thinking such uncharitable thoughts about Devin. It wasn't Devin's fault her family lived in a house so small it could pass for a doll's house. Cici sighed, Devin wouldn't say no if she asked to move in, but she'd have to sleep outside.

One day, though ... one day, she'd stop caring ... one day, she'd decide she was leaving, even if it meant she'd have to sleep on park benches and in doorsteps ... one day.

**ooo...ooo**

Once again back at Hogwarts, Cici sat in Professor Heubert's class still valiantly resisting the urge to cast a silencing charm on him.

"Split up into partners, please," he said, and Cici curled her hand around her wand. Oh, how she wished she'd never have to hear his annoying voice again.

Cici fought the urge to flinch when James asked her to be his partner. Why did he have to ask her? She didn't want to work with him. She didn't even want to look at him. But, of course, he didn't know that and she planned to keep it that way. So she smiled and nodded and they were partners. They worked with just as much efficiency as last time except she didn't steal any glances his way, and he seemed much more distracted.

"You didn't save me a dance at the ball," he said when they finished.

"I didn't go."

"That's too bad; you could have shown down all of the girls there." Cici looked at him fighting temptation, but she couldn't help herself, she had to mention it.

"I heard from Devin that you met some girl who ran out on you." Oh god, she was evil, the look of pain on James' face confirmed that. He didn't reply, instead he got up out of his seat and walked up to Professor Heubert. He came back a minute later.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of her seat. She was so surprised, she let him drag her into the hallway before she tugged her arm away.

"What are you doing?" She hissed at him.

"I told Professor Heubert we needed to go to the library to finish the assignment."

"We're already done with the assignment."

"I know, but I need to talk to you without everyone listening in." What was he talking about?

"That girl at the ball, the one who ran out; I love her."

"Why are you telling me this?" Cici asked, backing up to the wall, trying to put as much space between them as possible.

"The reason she ran out," he continued, ignoring her question, "Was that I told her I had a crush on someone else."

"Well, I would have run out on you then, too," Cici said, desperately ignoring the pangs her heart was giving off.

"That crush is on you Cici. I don't understand it. I hardly know you, but I find you irresistible. It's like you're Cinders, but human. You aren't perfect, I see your flaws and I like them. I've never seen Cinders' flaws," he let out a dry laugh, "except her lack of sewing expertise. I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I don't want to go out with you, obviously, because I'm in love with Cinders, but I can't go out with her either because I have a crush on you. You're just so similar, it's like where one of you is incomplete, the other fills the gap. I just don't know what to do..."

He had a crush on her and he was in love with her. She felt like jumping for joy. She was so happy it didn't even occur to her to pretend she didn't know who Cinders was. How much simpler all of this would have been if she'd just told him who she was last night. She'd been silly, but she could fix it. She could fix her mistake.

"James ..." she was cut off by the bell. James straightened and she watched as all of the pain and emotion he'd let play on his face was wiped away by the haughty look you came to expect from the most popular guy at school.

"I'll see you next class, Cici," he said, walking back into the classroom to get his books. Cici just stood there while the whole class filed by. She let herself be mesmerized by the waves of color the different styles and talk that fueled the cacophony around her. She would meet James tomorrow at the Three Broomsticks and tell him the truth, tell him that he did know what to do ... ask her out.

**ooo...ooo**

What's up?

_Nothing._

Now I know something's up.

_Leave me alone Devin, I'm trying to take notes._

Take notes later.

_Unlike some people, I want to pass this class._

I didn't say I didn't want to pass, Lily.

_Don't call me that!_

Whatever you say, Lily.

_Stop!_

Only if you tell me what's up, Lily.

_Argh, I'm going to tell James to ask me out when I meet him tomorrow._

What about Miss Crush?

_I'm Miss Crush._

What?

_He has a crush on me, Cici, and is in love with Cinders, also me; what more can a girl ask for?_

A date.

_Yeah, I'm working on that. Now let me take notes._

Ok, Lily.

_ARGH!_

**ooo...ooo**

Cici hesitated outside of the Three Broomsticks; she was supposed to be going home this Saturday, so she could go with Francis and push the cart for her at the grocery. Honestly, what a lazy bum, she couldn't even push her own cart at the grocery. Cici grimaced in disgust just thinking about Francis. It was pitiful that she forced Dumbledore to give Cici permission to come home on weekends so she could do chores.

Cici looked through the window at James, who was sitting forlornly with her shoe resting on the table beside him. He'd been waiting for a good half hour already. Taking a deep breath she tugged the door open and walked over to James.

"Cici," he said, looking surprised.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked.

"Actually, I'm waiting for someone."

"I'll move when they get here," she said, sitting down. He looked at her questioningly. She took another deep breath and pulled the other shoe out of her bag, setting it by the one on the table. He looked from it to her and then back again.

"I don't understand," he said.

"I'm Cinders."

"Cinders..."

"And Cici."

"You're the same person."

"That's right."

"So, I'm not going crazy."

"No," she agreed, grinning as a gorgeous smile slowly spread over his face.

"Will you..." he trailed off, looking nervous.

"... Go out with you?" She finished for him.

"Yes, will you go out with me?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Yes," she said, "I will." His face lit up and he leapt from his seat pulling her up into a hug.

"You've just made me the happiest person in the world!"

"Really?" She said, laughing.

"Yes! And I'm taking you home right now and introducing you to my parents since you're going to come over all of the time. I'm going to tell them they might as well adopt you and I can teach you to play quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Cici said; that wasn't what she'd heard boyfriends and girlfriends did in their spare time.

"Yeah, I love quidditch and I can teach you and you can love it too and when we finish, we can go lay in the hammock and I can hold your hand and we can hang out with Sirius and Remus and play 2 on 2 and..." James continued on and on about watching clouds and things like that. Cici found it hard to believe that this was the most sought after boy in school. What would his fan club say if they found out he wanted to spend time holding hands and playing quidditch with his girlfriend? She didn't know about them, but she kind of liked it. She tuned back in to his words right as he said, "The only time you don't want to be at my house would be cleaning day, which is one Saturday a month, but I can warn you in advance. I just know my mom would draft you into some awful cleaning job." Cici blanched.

"I have to go!"

"But you just got here."

"I know, James, but I have to get home, my step-mom's going to be furious at me as it is since I'm late."

"Well, I'll go with you and explain that it's my fault. I'm sure she won't be too mad."

"You don't understand my step-mom, James, she's evil."

"I'm good with evil, come on." He grabbed her shoes and walked out the door, leaving her trailing behind.

"Do you even know where my house is?" she called after him. He turned and looked at her then looked at Devin who, as luck would have it, was standing right next to Zonkos with Sirius, where James had stopped.

"I bet you know where she lives."

"I do," Devin said, the traitor. Cici had managed to catch up.

"Don't tell him," Cici said; Devin ignored her.

"She lives at 12 Everafter Lane."

"Thanks!" James said, giving Devin a stunning grin. He then stuck out his wand and the night bus appeared.

"James," Cici pleaded, "Don't." But he was already on the bus. The bus let them off right in front of the house. Francis hated it when the bus stopped in front of the house, she always made Cici get off around the corner.

He politely rang the doorbell as Cici continued to ask him to stop. Then Francis answered the door.

"There you are, you stupid girl. You're late and now I'm late for my nail appointment." Francis grabbed Cici by the neck and yanked her forward, "You're grounded for this, you ungrateful brat and next time, I'll pull you out of your precious school as well. What's the point when you're just going to spend your life as a maid, Cinderella?" Cici felt tears spring to her eyes; she didn't want Francis to hate her; Cici didn't even know why she did. It just felt like she could never be good enough.

"Shut-up!" Cici screamed. She felt power flow into her as Francis froze because Cici had just realized something: that "one-day" she'd been dreaming about for years ... that day was today.

"Why didn't you just push your own darn cart at the grocery; I'm not your slave. Or better yet, make one of your whore daughters do it. And you know what, I give up. I give up trying to please you. I'm moving out. I never want to see you again." Cici stormed past Francis, dragging James with her.

"I'm so sorry, James," she said when they reached her room, "I didn't want you to see that."

"No, I'm sorry, I had no clue your step-mom was like that, if I'd known I would have talked to my parents about letting you move in ages ago. As it is now, it'll take some convincing, but I think the bruises on your neck ought to do it." Cici looked at him in surprise.

"I'm not moving in with you. What would people say?" James looked at her confused.

"Oh, you mean propriety. Well, you would have your own room and stuff. My parents are actually kind of used to me moving my friends in when their parents are abusing them."

"Are you sure, James? I could probably find ... somewhere ..."

"I'm positive."

Cici grinned as she pulled out her spare trunk and laughed a little at herself. And she'd thought she'd be sleeping on doorsteps. She had to be the luckiest girl in the world to have a boyfriend like James.

Cici packed what little she owned into her trunk and headed out of her tiny room for the last time, not feeling one bit of regret. James' parents were surprised to see her and James on their doorstep, but welcomed her with open arms and set her up in the very elegant guest room. Afterward, James took Cici for a walk to show her around the Potter estate.

"This is the best day of my life," Cici told James confidently.

"Me too," he agreed, stopping their slow amble to give her a hug.

"There's only one small difficulty."

"Oh, what's that?" Cici said, wondering what in the world he could possibly find wrong with this amazing day. And what a day it was, getting an amazing kind boyfriend and finally gathering the courage to break away from her step-family.

"I don't know what to call you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, should I call you Cici, or Cinders, or something else?"

Cici thought for a second. "If you want, you can call me Lily."

Lily, the girl who had died all those years ago with her father. But that didn't matter because it was time for Lily to crawl out of her hiding space and show the world she'd never really died; she'd just disappeared and now she was back.

"Lily?"

"Yeah, it's what me dad used to call me. If you don't want to that's fine, but..."

"I'd love to call you Lily," he said cutting off her rambling.

"It's short for Lillian."

"It's pretty." They reached a secluded garden and James pulled her over to sit on a bench next to a huge oak tree.

"I was wondering, Lily, do you think we'll live happily ever after?" James asked, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I think it all depends on what your happily ever after is."

"Oh?"

"For instance, if your happily ever after is to have a girlfriend with an evil step-family who's living out of your guest room and is madly in love with you, I think you're set." James looked at her, his eyes filled with love.

"That sounds pretty darn good to me," he said with fervor and then kissed her right on the lips in the middle of the garden.

Happily ever after indeed.

**The End**

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. If you want to review that would be absolutely beyond (or so my friend who had a zen like breakthrough on Monday would say). Sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. If you're interested I have a new L/J story in the works that I really like (although, that might not be the most unbiased judgment). I believe it will be posted sometime after the lovely little AP exams I must take (so middle/end of May).

**Daystar: **Thank you for betaing this story (even if you point out my errors that I'm too lazy to fix in your reviews cough aritmancy cough. On the better news front, the next story is way better than this one, so you have lots to look forward to.

**Aelotia: **I have to admit I have no clue where Lily's shoes came from. I'm just inclined to think they fell out of the luggage of an all powerful magical cricket.

**sunlitmist:** A little of both. Daystar asked me to write a cinderella story for her senior exit and I went a wee bit overboard and the story ended up longer than her paper, but that's a trivial little detail ... I really just wanted to do something modern and I'd see Cinderella Story a few months back so ...


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